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5,000–12,000 ft · MT🚗 Directions
Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir below treeline. Short but productive season due to extreme elevation. King boletes near timberline.
Updated Aug 27, 4:01 AM MT
# Beartooth/Absaroka – S Tier | August 27 This is a banner weekend. Sustained moisture (0.27 VWC baseline) across two weeks of moderate precipitation has triggered near-universal flush conditions at elevation, despite soil temps sitting just at the marginal threshold. The 41 viable species—dominated by the high-tier boletes (Bay, Painted, Chicken-Fat), milk caps (Indigo, Saffron), and choice edibles like Lobster and Sweet Tooth—represent one of the broadest fruiting windows you'll see this season. Soil temperature is the only real constraint; it's not stopping anything, but it's preventing *premium* output from the thermophilic marginal-tier species (Cauliflower, Chaga, Birch Bolete). Watch desiccation risk over the next 48–72 hours. High-elevation exposures dry fast in late August, especially south-facing slopes above 9,000 ft. The moisture window is genuine but perishable. **Hot tip:** Target north-facing subalpine fir and krummholz zones 8,500–10,000 ft where soil stays cooler and damper longer—that's where your Lobster and Saffron Milk Caps will fruit hardest and longest.
Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.
Precip 7d
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Custer Gallatin National Forest
Custer Gallatin National Forest
⚠ Road Access Notice
Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.
0.87"
PRISM 4km · thru 08-25
Precip 14d
Observed precipitation from PRISM 4km gridded analysis, sampled at the region centroid through 2026-08-25. Used when no SNOTEL/SCAN station is mapped to this region.2.27"
PRISM 4km · thru 08-25
Soil Temp
51°F
SWE
Snow Water Equivalent — how much water is in the snowpack vs. normal. Declining SWE means snowmelt is adding moisture to the soil.0%
Drought
None
Snowmelt
complete
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 58°F min, 0/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
soil temp marginal (51°F vs 55°F min, 2/7 days above), today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
All conditions met (soil 51°F, sustained 7/7 days above threshold, today 0.25 VWC, 7d avg 0.27 — moisture sustained)
Primordia readiness: Cold = mycelium dormant. Activating = soil warming, primordia building. Primed = 5+ sustained warm days at species threshold; fruiting imminent if moisture cooperates. Based on Schmidt 1983 / Mihail 2007.